Black Duchess

Nora picked up a suitable key. It opened the door. We stepped through and found ourselves in total darkness. Immediately we heard one of the owners return to their room on the other side of the corridor. It looked like it was the son. My wife and I kept silent, switched off the flashlight, and did not move. All this was like a childish hide-and-seek game.

“I’ll remember this vacation for a long time,” Nora whispered. “I think he’s gone to his room; let’s go.”

“Are you sure? It would be a shame if we were caught.” “Therefore, we must hurry,” Nora prompted.

My wife turned on the flashlight, and a spiral staircase appeared in front of us… another rather inexplicable lie from Dupré. The count had clearly said the tower was rebuilt for rooms… that is, the tower space served as a communication hub between the floors, and it was impossible to climb vertically. One could walk only horizontally and only on his own floor.

We took his explanation to be true since there was another staircase next to our room. We climbed it on the first day. There were only small rooms for servants, and they were located directly above ours. The count’s lies could remain undisclosed… but only for those who did not enter his territory.

We continued our ascent. There were two floors left for rooms. We then saw another door on the third floor. However, it wasn’t as old as the doors in the other towers. It was heavy and decorated with carved scenes from medieval life. We pushed it, and it opened.

This was not at all the abandoned antiquity that we saw in other towers! Yes, there was a layer of dust, but the room was very richly decorated. Huge, dense, and beautiful tapestries with hunting scenes hung on the walls. (My wife taught me this word; they were not “carpets” but “tapestries.”) The fireplace was made of white marble. It was covered with soot, which is understandable since they once lived here. A carved desk with images of saints stood by the window. Something like another desk was located along the wall. There were small people depicted on it. In short, it was an antique.

“Anton,” my wife continued to whisper, “Do you see that?”

“Yes, it cannot stay unnoticed. I think they are extraordinarily rich! Maybe they should sell it and then repair the castle,” I suggested.

“God! It is from the 15th century! Look at the quality of the furniture. There are almost no such things anymore,” Nora said wistfully. “But everything is locked ….” Nora searched for something in her pocket and suddenly pulled out a bunch of keys.

“You took the keys with you? And if the owners see?” I exclaimed.

“I don’t care if they do! You and I have entered a parallel world. It’s worth it.”

This time I agreed with her. It’s not often that an ordinary vacation is so interesting. Nora turned the key that fit into the desk, and an old drawer opened. It turned out that time affected it a lot: the drawer almost fell into her hands. Inside were sheets of paper full of notes.

“How much did medieval people write?” I asked in astonishment.

“Anton, I think these are letters and… diaries! Old French is too complicated… even this handwriting is hard to read. But you can definitely see the capital letters. He wrote to his wife. It says, “Louise, my love… I am waiting for your return.”

It’s so romantic.”

“Yes, if only we could understand the rest.” “Let’s take it to our room!” my wife suggested.

“Are you crazy?” I was indignant at such proposals.

“Have you noticed the order that is maintained here?”

“Yes! You bet. Everything is pretty well cleaned and preserved. No sign of rats. I think a man definitely lived here… judging by the style and hunting trophies. There are more weapons. I wonder if the swords are sharp?”

I went to the wall to pull a sword out of the fasteners.

“Be careful!”

The sword turned out to be very heavy and sharp; it was difficult for medieval knights to fight with them.

“Try to use this in battle,” Nora commented.

“Amazing!”

Now my mood was improving. Finally, I found something that pleased me: weapons and thrills.

“I think this is the Duchess Louise’s husband’s room,” Nora observed. “Gorgeous decoration. Why do they care so much about these rooms and have not sold anything… or at least why not show it as a museum exhibition?”

My spouse was clearly caught up in our investigation.

“Good question,” I simply responded.

“Anton, I think I can read some entries from the duke’s diary: “She came down from the carriage so easily. She became as thin as a girl; her hair became better: stronger and shiny… as if she were a young girl. It had a more beautiful, darker color, too.”

“I can’t understand further… ah, here: “The nails have become longer and whiter. She tried to hide her face, but it was hard to hide. I couldn’t help noticing that her lips were bloodshot; they turned red like the garnets in her ears. Her eyelashes have become longer and darker. And the unnatural blush was clearly not paint. I asked if she had a fever, but she shook her head and said she wanted to have a rest from the road. She was definitely hiding something. She seemed ashamed and hurt. But she didn’t want to talk about it. I’ve known my wife for too long.”

“If my French teacher had heard me, she would have been proud of me!”

“Maybe you shouldn’t read any more. Why would you want to dig into their private life?” I was genuinely perplexed.

“I don’t know. I just have to; I want to. Just support me, please.”

At that moment, Nora was so touching. Of course, I couldn’t refuse her. But this preoccupation with the Middle Ages frankly began to frighten me.

“Okay, read on,” I replied.

““The strangest thing is that I’ll never forget her skin at that moment. It became pearly white and very beautiful; and her freckles disappeared. All the tan came off. In combination with the red velvet she wore and the garnets in her ears, her skin looked especially bright and radiant.

““She walked like an unearthly creature; it seemed to me that she was 16 again. Her waist became narrower with no traces of all her pregnancies. She hugged me so tightly and carnivorously that I was surprised… and I felt weak. Apparently, I missed her too much.”

“God, how romantic it is! He describes her so beautifully!” My wife made a childishly dramatic face.

“Yes, but a strange description… pallor was probably considered sexual,” I replied.

“In the Middle Ages pallor was at the peak of fashion… the symbol of a woman’s purity. However, dark hair was considered a sign of a predisposition to evil.” Nora loved to study history.

“Times have changed a lot. Apparently, he hadn’t seen her for so long that she seemed to him more beautiful than usual. Is there anything else interesting?”

“Here’s an entry for 16.10.1452: ‘The night spent with my wife exhausted me, although I was waiting for her so much. I must have gotten older. This is strange. She was weird and wild. I asked if she had a fever, but she only shook her head and said she wanted a rest from the road. She was clearly hiding something. My duchess seemed ashamed and hurt.’”

“Maybe she was really a witch?” I grinned as I grabbed my wife’s hand.

Suddenly a strong wind blew through the window. The shutters rustled. I even shuddered a little but quickly pulled myself together.

“Don’t scare me!” Nora shuddered. “Listen. There’s more: ‘21.10.1452, I constantly feel unwell after spending time with my wife. I must be sick.’”

“Either she was an insatiable or the duke started having problems,” I decided to joke again. “However, this does not explain anything.”

“I agree,” Nora responded. “Here’s more: “Entry from 09.11.1452, “I had a very serious conversation with my wife. She told me all the details of the trip and that she had found a remedy for our misfortune. This requires urgent measures; delay can cost lives. We are worried about our children. We will take them to a safe place. Then my wife will finish the job. We will save our family. I am sure that the Lord will not leave us.”

“Wow! Anton, something has happened in this family; it’s obvious! The children’s rooms look so strange! How can you explain that?”

“I agree, there is some mystery here. Something serious has happened in this family which the lying count does not want to talk about. Frankly, I am sure that the count knows everything, but this information is not for outsiders.”

Nora continued reading, “‘Her hugs are suffocating. She began to hug people often as if it could save her from something or give her strength. Louise sometimes tries to squeeze me forcefully with her fingers or pinch me. It’s like she gets vitality from it.’ Horror… our duchess loved BDSM,” Nora laughed.

“And she was very promiscuous, apparently.” I was also amused by all the pornography of the 15th century, but there was something disturbing in these records.

“I think we won’t have time to read everything; we have to go upstairs,” commanded my wife. “Clearly, there is a dark secret in this family, especially since the count mentioned that the duchess was a witch. Frankly, I’m a little scared of these records. What could have happened to her?”

“We can’t assume anything. It doesn’t look like a disease; it’s just some kind of madness. Come on, honey.”

Nora’s diary

We walked up to the fourth floor. There we were surprised even more than before: the big, oak door opened with a creak; and the first thing we saw was… ourselves! I know it sounds like nonsense. However, this was exactly the impression created by a huge, Gothic mirror about two meters high and framed with carved wood in the imitation of a Gothic cathedral’s rooftop. It was racy and a bit frightening. The mirror created a sort of corridor… truly the room of a magical witch. It was no less than the queen’s room!

To the left of the mirror was a dressing table, also carved from brown wood. To the left of the dressing table was a wall that divided the room almost in two with carved images of biblical scenes and other medieval themes.

I must say this room had a resemblance to the nursery upstairs as it was almost entirely decorated in carved wood. However, it was obvious that it belonged to an adult.

On the right side of the mirror there were a desk, a book stand, a window, and a huge fireplace. An amazing sight was the window which looked out onto the fields.

“I wonder if all the duchesses lived like this,” I said to my husband in a half-whisper; I was shocked.

To say that the room was gorgeous is to say nothing. Tapestries hung behind the furniture, large and soft. On both sides of the door were tall, Gothic, open wardrobes full of medieval clothes. Dresses and hats seemed to be everywhere. It was clear that they were all made of a rather chic fabric, embroidered with semiprecious stones.

I had an overwhelming wish to touch them.

The dresses were made of velvet of different colors: powdery, mint, and turquoise and trimmed with fur. There were dresses made of satin, mostly with a high waist and open chest as befitted the Burgundian fashion of the 15th century.

One dress attracted me especially – I couldn’t take my eyes off it. It felt as if some very stormy and important experiences were connected to it. It was a warm dress made of heavy, blood-red velvet. Made with a high waist, it was trimmed with silver threads and fur. The skirt was embroidered in the form of a cape – something like a petticoat – made of heavy brocade; and the sleeves were long and fairy-like and went down to the floor. Medieval women dressed much brighter than modern ones.

In one of the wardrobes were hats in which women put up their hair. The collection included two-horned caps with short veils, cropped cones, and, of course, my favorite: hennins, fairy hats. In my opinion, nothing reflected the Gothic era like a hennin. These tall, conical hats sometimes reached up to two meters, and silk fabric fell from the tip of the cap… a real fairy hat.

I began to pet the dresses like one would a cat. I had a feeling that I missed them.

My husband looked at me bewildered.

“Be careful in case these dresses haven’t been shaken out in the last 500 years,” he cautioned.

“The velvet… and the stones …,” I said dreamily.